Pocahontas and Sacagawea - The Creation of a Myth

Table of Contents:

Table of Contents: .............................................................................................................2

1.  Introduction 3  

2.  Definition Myth 4  

3.  Pocahontas 4  

3.1.  The Historical Pocahontas 4  

3.2.  Mythical Pocahontas: 6  

3.3.  Film Analysis Disney s Pocahontas (1995) 10  

4.  Sacagawea 14  

4.1.  Historical Sacagawea: 14  

4.2.  Mythical Sacagawea: 16  

4.3.  Film Analysis: The Far Horizons (1955) 20  

5.  Conclusion 24  

  References  25

  Pictures: 27 NA  

2  NA  

1. Introduction

“Myth is the hidden part of every story, the buried part, the region that is still unexplored because there are as yet no words to enable us to get there. Myth is nourished by silence as well as by words.” (Italo Calvino (1923 - 1985). “The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie - deliberate, contrived, and dishonest - but the myth - persistent, persuasive, and realistic” (John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 – 1963). 1 Since mankind exists there had always been stories, legends and myths in every culture, which were orally transferred from generation to generation. Often it was not possible to retrace what was true and what was lied since facts where added, others were omitted or forgotten.

In the following paper I will analyse a myth that played an important role in the American history. It is about the legends of Sacagawea and Pocahontas, two Native Americans whom is still talked about today and who helped to ensure the survival of the American colonies and to discover and explore the west of the USA in the 17 th and 19 th century.

I will mainly refer to the dissertation “The Role of Pocahontas and Sacagawea in the Creation of New American Mythology” by Jill Peters and discuss some main ideas. On the basis of this paper I will expose fact and fiction concerning Sacagawea’s and Pocahontas’s life.

In order to get a better understanding of the topic my paper will at first be commenced by a definition about what myth means.

The second passage will contain an overview about Pocahontas’s life. Here the historical and mythical Pocahontas concerning her background as well as the devised facts shall be presented.

The film “Disney’s Pocahontas” shall be one example to show how Pocahontas is made mythical.

In the third paragraph I will do the same analysis with Sacagawea and give an overview of the different myths referring to her. I will use the film “The far Horizons” as one example for myth-making.

1 http://www1.bbiq.jp/quotations/myth.htm : 12.08.06

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The final passage will deal contain a conclusion.

2. Definition Myth

There are many definitions of this term but no one is sufficient to give an exact explanation since there are so many kinds of stories to which the expression myth is applied. I chose the one from the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED 2 explanations for this term which developed in the Mid-19 th century and derives from the Greek word “muthos” meaning tale or story. 2 Just the 2 nd is relevant for my topic:

“Something that many people believe but that doesn’t exist or is false; e.g.:

- It is time to dispel the myth of a classless society (= to show that it does not exist)

- contrary to popular myth women are not worse drivers than men.” 3

3. Pocahontas

3.1. The Historical Pocahontas

Background

Pocahontas was born around 1595/96, (* 1617) as the daughter of the chief Powhatan (Wahunsonacock) of the Algonquin tribe Powhatan in the present-day Virginia. This tribe was a mighty federation of probably 9000 people consisting of different tribes like Chesapeake, Delawaren or Potomac. Their houses were made of, rushes, bark and poles and they grew crops, especially maize, fished and hunted. 4 Pocahontas was originally called Matoaka, but was nicknamed with Pocahontas

3 Oxford English Dictionary: ( taken from electronic translator SEIKO GR-T7000 Dictionary) 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powhatan: 01.09.2006

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which means “the playful one”. She is said to have been the favourite daughter of her father who still had 40 other children. 5 In 1607 the first Virginia Company colonists including Captain John Smith arrived in Virginia and settled at Jamestown. That was probably the first time Pocahontas saw white men. In 1613 while visiting friends Pocahontas was captured by Captain Samuel Argall to get ransom from Powhatan. They arrived at Jamestown on April 13. But Powhatan who already had a new favourite daughter did not really go into the demands as fast as he could have. Pocahontas was in capture for several months and was taught in the English way of life and Christianity since

brought between the Powhatans and the English since Powhatan was getting old and tired of fighting.

One year later she gave birth to a son named Thomas Rolfe and two years after their

marriage the family sailed with Captain Argall to England, where Pocahontas dressed like lady from the high society, met King James I, had contact with aristocracy, was portrayed and had a brief reencounter with John Smith. The Virginia Company of London used Pocahontas for their propaganda campaign in order to support the colony. “Pocahontas was evidence that Virginia was a good investment and that Indians were capable of being converted to Christianity.” 6 On their way back to Virginia when they left London Pocahontas suffered from a disease. She was unable to continue the journey and was taken to Gravesend where she died at the age of 21 on March 21, 1617. John Rolfe went back to Virginia. Their son Thomas who also suffered from a European disease stayed with Rolfe’s relatives and returned to Virginia 20 years later. 7

5 Encarta 2006, headword: Pocahontas 6 http://www.lehigh.edu/~ineng/jll/jll-history.htm : 1. 09. 2006

7 Peters, Jill

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Pocahontas was the first American Indian woman who married an English man and who made a journey to England and was buried there. 8

3.2. Mythical Pocahontas:

“She was probably round –faced, with thick black hair, shaven close. She was of a Colour [color] browne. She had handsome lymbes [limbs] and slender armes [arms]. These and her face my have been heavily tattooed. She probably wore a headband, decorated beads, and earrings. Her head and shoulders may have been coated with red powder. This had been mixed with the oyle [oil] of the walnut of Beares [bear’s] grease. She was unusual for her wit and spirit. […]. “ 9 This description represents just one example that makes clear that there are only assumptions about Pocahontas. This source - supposed to be proved and reliable since

taken from a historical book - is even doubtful like many other sources because no one really knows what her character was like and whether her life passed the way it is said to be or differently. The reason is that there are no So one really has to be critical and careful when reading secondary literature since there are many things about the Indian woman that are devised. That is the reason why it was hard for me to decide between right and wrong, real and fictive while making my preparations and studying different sources.

In the following passage I want to demonstrate some main facts historians argue about on the basis of Jill Peter’s paper “The Role of Pocahontas and Sacagawea in the Creation of New American Mythology.” These facts lead to heavy discussions.

8 MSN Encarta Peters, Jill : “The Role of Pocahontas and Sacagawea in the Creation of New American Mythology” 9 Sullivan, George: pg. 5

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Devised Facts

1. Pocahontas saved Captain John Smith.

One main legend says that Pocahontas is supposed to have rescued John Smith from being killed by Powhatan through braining on December 31, 1607 by throwing her head between him and her father’s warriors. However if you take a look at Smith’s notes himself this seems quite implausible.

John Smith wrote three different accounts about the capture by the Algonquin: The first one called “A True Relation” was written six months after the alleged event in 1608 and seems to be the most reliable one since it was only written for his superior and not supposed to be “a memoir for the public.” However

Pocahontas is not mentioned at any time. This arouses the impression that he was shortly in capture, thought as innocent and then freed. Many historians see this count as a hint that 1 st : Pocahontas never saved John Smith’s life , 2 nd : Pocahontas’ role was not that important and seems

forgettable and 3 rd : that the capture had little impact on the people living in Jamestown.

His second account “Proceedings of the English Colonie in Virginia” from 1612 does not contain a word about Pocahontas as well but here he claims to have made friends with the Indians “for the betterment of the Jamestown colony”. He also mentions the ways Indians were executed alluding “to the way he was about to kill when Pocahontas saved him” 10 “Generall Historie of Virginia”, his third and most popular report, was written as a memoir in 1624 and tells a totally different story than the two accounts before. He claims that Powhatan first paraded around him and he then was implored by priests and finally supposed to be eaten. Subsequently Powhatan discussed with his councillors and priests finally deciding that Captain John Smith’s brain “should be beaten out.”

10 Lemay 1992: xvii

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